Liquid dispensing device



July 23, 1963 c. R. M. GRAHAM LIQUID DIsPENsING DEVICE:

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20. 1960 I6 IS Fl G July 23, 1963 c. R. M.GRAHAM 3,098,589

LIQUID DISPENSING DEVICE Filed May 20, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2o 28\,/f/f/ f1,9 33 larva/V103 i csa; MEW 44 a4/T604@ 22 @Re HH,

3,098,589 LIQUlD DESPENSING DEVlCE Cecil Robert Montgomery Graham,Lagonda Ave., Killara, New South Wales, Australia Filed May 20, 1960,Ser. No. 30,519 Claims priority, application Australia May 21, 1959 5Claims. (Cl. 222-394) This invention has reference to devices fordispensing, for instance spraying or atornising liquid or semi-liquidsubstances from a container under the action of a propellant, of thetype compri-sing a discharge tube for-the liquid which 'as a ruleprojects from the top or head of the container, the dispensing devicebeing operated by angularly -tilting the discharge head by nger pressureapplied to the latter.

In dispensing or spr-aying devices of this type the discharge tube ismounted in a resiliently deformable sealing disc arranged for instanceat the top yof the container, the tube projecting both outwardly fromand inwardly into the container through said disc an-d the outer sectionof l said -t-ube carrying a linger piece provided with `a lateral outletaperture or nozzle whereas the inner section of the tube is providedwith a lateral inlet aperture or orifice.

In a known construction the inner tube section is provided with aconical or substantially coni-cal ilange the outer edge of whichnormally engages the surface of the sealing disc, inside the container,the llange and the sealing disc defining together an annular spaceconnected to the interior of the discharge tube by the 'above mentionedlateral inlet aperture. The flange th-us prevents the flow of liquidfrom the container to said inlet laperture which, like the outletaperture, acts as a metering means `for the liquid to be ejected `fromthe container, or to be atomised. If lateral finger pressure is appliedto the discharge tube i for the operation of the device, the conicalflange is partly disengaged lfrom the surface of the sealing discso'that liquid can flow into the discharge tube through its lateralinlet aperture under the action of the propellant while the dischargetube is held in -angularly tilted position. When the late-ral linge-rpressure yon the discharge tube ceases, the tube is returned to itsnormal position and the flange made to` re-engage the inner surface ofthe resilient disc and thereby to out off the inlet aperture from the`interior of the container or can by the action of a spring accommodatedwithin a retaining cup or otherwise supported within the container, -forinstance within the top portion of the latter.

In the known construction the discharge tube is made of metal, its innerend being sealed off Iby a disc made :for instance of rubber or likeplastic material, which is mounted in a cup-shaped metal holder engagedby the aforementioned spring, the disc and its holder being in effect `avalve which towing to the action of the spring normally ensures theclosure `of the discharge tube.

The known -arrangement is comparatively complicated, being composed of anumber of parts. Besides this, it would be desirable to replace themetal parts of the discharge assembly by a plastic material which caneasily be moulded and, furthermore, to reduce the number lof parts.

Attempts were irst made to produce the discharge assembly from plasticmaterial while retaining the shape of its components, but it was foundthat the lateral inlet aperture of .the discharge ytube which, in orderto be eliective, must be arranged within the annular space or cavitydefined by the aforementioned ilange, and which cannot be produced bymoulding, is extremely diflicult if not impossible to produce bydrilling or otherwise. This is Ymainly due to the fact that a drill orequivalent tool would have to be introduced into the annular spacebounded by the llange atan `angle to the longitudinal axis United StatesPatent 3,098,589 Patented July 23, 1963 ice of the discharge tube, andis also due to the nature of the material itself.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved sprayingdevice of the type referred to which, if desired, can |be made entirelyof plastic material, preferably thermo-plastic material such as nylon,by moulding and which is very simple to assemble.

According to the invention a manually loperable device for controllingthe discharge of liquid `from a container under the action lof apropellant includes a resilently deformable sealing disc for mounting inan aperture of said container, a valve tbody with a centr-al cavitysurrounded by a rim, means which resiliently urge said rim into sealingengagement with one -side of said disc, a discharge tube for liquid openat both ends and being a Igas-tight tit in an aperture of said sealingdisc, said tube projecting from yopposite sides of said disc and oneportion of the tube extending into said cav-ity and being provided withan exterior ilange which is spaced from said sealing di-sc and rests ona seat formed in said cavity, a lip on said valve body for retainingsaid lian-ge on said seat, and passages permitting the iiow of liquidfrom one side to the other of said exterior flange and along the outerwall of said one tube portion to the [opening in the end of saidportion, the :area of said opening being restricted to constitute ametering inlet to the interior of said tube.

In a preferred embodiment, the control device is designed to act at thesame time as a liltering means for the liquid operative during theactuation of the device.

Wherever in the following reference is made to a liquid, that term ismeant to encompass also 'such other, for instance semi-liquid,substances 'as `are capable of being ejected from a container by `apropellant. Such terms indicating a position as top, bottom `an-d thelike are to be understood in relation to the control means as such,irrespective of lthe position of said means on a container.

In order to more particularly describe the invention, reference is madeto the accompanying drawings which, by way of example only, illustrate aspecific embodiment of the improved controlling device. In thesedra-wings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views of the device mounted inthe top of a container in its norma-l inoperative position, and in theposition of use, respectively,

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the discharge tube forming part of the devicein longitudinal cross-section and in plan respectively, while FIG. 5 is-a longitudinal cross-section through a pre-A fferred form of the valvebody forming part of the device, and

FIG. 6 is a section on line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

The assembled device illustrated -in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a sealingdisc 10 of rubber or other resiliently deformable material inserted intoa central cavity 11 of a cap 12 provided with a circumferential bead 13adapted to be sealed to the neck of a container (not shown). The sealingdisc 1t) is held in position within said cavity by the top ilange of achamber 14 which encases the control means proper of the dispensingdevice, the chamber 14 being retained in position on said cap by anannular bead 15 formed in` the wall of the cavity 11 which engagesbeneath a shoulder 16 formed in the outer wall of the chamber 14. Thechamber 14 is of restricted diameter in its bottom portion thusproviding an i11- terior shoulder 17. A duct 18 leading downwardly fromthe bottom of the chamber may be connected to a tube 19 which, as usual,extends to a position near the bottom of the container. p

The control means proper of lthe device include two elements 20 and 2.1,respectively, both moulded fromV plastic material. Element 2.0 is a tubewhich is open at both ends and is formed with a central duct ZZ of ade-3 quate width, the duct extending throughout the length of the tube 20.The bottom end of the tube 20 is formed centrally with an opening 23constituting the inlet aperture to the duct 2,2, the diameter of theopening 23 being so restricted in comparison to that of the duct 22 thatit acts as a means for metering. The tube 20 is a gas-.tight tit in anaperture of the sealing disc and it projects from both sides of saiddisc. The upper portion of tfhe tube Ztl which passes with clear-ancethrough a central aperture l1 of the cavity 11, carries a hollow fingerpiece 24, the interior space 25 of which communicates with the duct 22.An outlet aperture 26 provided in the linger-piece 24 is also of adiameter considerably smaller than that of the duct 22 so that theoutlet 26 acts as a second metering means. The duct 22 within the tubeand the space 25 within the finger-piece are suiciently Wide to act asan expansion chamber for the liquid and propellant during the operationof the device.

In its downwardly projecting portion the tube 2d is formed with anexternal ange 27 disposed at a small distance from the underside of thesealing disc 10 when the discharge tube is mounted within the sealingdisc. The flange 27 is formed with a number of indentations 28 (FIG. 4)which permit the flow of liquid across the flange 27 from the upper tothe lower side thereof in directions substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the tube. Further passages 29 formed in the innerwall of the cup-shaped body 21 and extending along the outer surface ofthe downwardly projecting portion of the tube 20 permit liquid to flowto the bottom end of the tube 20 and finally to the restricted opening23 and thence into the duct 22 of .the discharge tube 20 itself.

The second element 21 of the control means is a substantially cup-shapedvalve body with .a central cavity 33 surrounded by a wide upper or rimportion 30, the inner wall of which converges towards the top edge ofsaid cavity to provide a seat 31 for the external iiange 27 of the tube20. At its inner edge the rim portion 30 of the body 21 is formed withan all-round undercut 32 into which the flange 27 is snapped by forceand is thus firmly retained on the seat 31 by a `lip 32 which followsthe inner edge of the rim 30. The end portion 34 of the tube 20-beyondthe flange 27-and the inner wall of the cavity in the valve body 2l. areboth slightly tapered, so that said cavity 33 forms a seat for the tubeend porlion 34. The parts are so dimensioned that the extreme end of thetube portion 34 is at a distance from the bottom of the cavity 33leaving a clearance for liquid flow from the bottom of the cavity to therestricted opening 23 in the tube end portion 34.

In the example illustrated a few passages 29 are cut into the side ofthe tapering inner wall of the cavity 33, which permit the flow ofliquid from the indentations 28 to the bottom of said cavity, thearrangement being such that an annular space 35 remains between theunderside of the ilange 27 and the top of the inner wall of the cavity33. The gaps or indentations 28 formed in the flange, the annular space3S, the grooves 29 in :the cavity wall and lthe clearance between thebottom of the cavity 33 and of the tube end 34 provide a continuous pathfor the flow of liquid from the space above the flange 27 through themetering aperture 23 and the duct 22 to the outlet 26 from the fingerpiece 24 whenever the dispensing device is operated.

When the above described assembly is mounted in the container, thelupper end of the rim 30 of the valve body 21 firmly engages theunderside of the resiliently deformable sealing disc 10 through whichthe tube 201 is passed.

I n the dispensing device as described a shoulder in the underside ofthe rim 30 of the valve 21 is engaged by a compression `spring 37properly supported by the shoulder 17 Within the chamber 14, whichnormally urges the valve body 21 into sealing engagement with theunderside of the resiliently deformable disc 10;

VI f, however, the tube 20 is angularly tilted by lateral pressureapplied to it via the finger piece 24, the sealing disc 10 is deformedand the rim of the valve body 21 is partly disengaged from the undersideof said disc, as shown-with some exaggeration--in FIG. 2. Consequentlyliquid is forced by the propellant from the container through the pathabove described and through the metering apertures outwardly and is,therefore, atomised and sprayed or dispensed otherwise from thecontainer at a measured rate, until the lateral pressure is removed fromthe finger piece 24 and tube 20.

The manufacture of the two pieces constituting the discharge and controlassembly of the device is exceedingly simple, as it can be eected bymere moulding, no drilling of holes being required. The passages for theliquid tlow are sufliciently wide to assure an undisturbed flow ofliquid to the inner metering aperture 23 and thence through the tube 20to the second metering outlet 26.

The device as described can easily be adapted to act as a lilteringdevice for solid impurities in the liquid as well, as will be understoodby referring to FIGS. 5 and 6. In this case, the passages 29 in thetapering inner wall in the cavity 33 `are made so shallow and narrowthat each passage 29 permits only a narrow thread of liquid to pass andthe passages 29 in their entirety to act as a filter element. Even if anumber of these narrow passages should be clogged by impurities, theremaining number of narrow passages not so blocked aiiords a sufficientcross-sectional area for -the flow of liquid to the outlet when thedevice is operated.

I desire it to be understood that I do not wish protection by LettersPatent to be limited to the aforedescribed details, as furthermodilications thereof are possible within the scope of the appendedclaims. Thus the indentations or gaps formed in the flange of thetubular element may be replaced by equidistant recesses or holes in saidflange.

The number of gaps, recesses or iholes in the iiange of the :dischargetube and the number of grooves in the cavity wall of the valve body maybe varied as desired.

Alternatively, the ange may be rep-laced Eby a number of properly shapedluigs or the like.

If so desired, the passa-ges leading the liquid to the bottom of thecavity in the valve body may be constituted by lgrooves formed in the`outer wall of Ithe t-ube element.

While it is one of the principal advantages of the invention that itpermits le use of plastic, particularly thermoplastic material, formanufacturing the principal elements o-f the control means, theinvention is not necessarily limited to suoh use, as it lis alsopossible to produce these parts, ttor instance, from light metal bydiecasting, or to make these parts from different materials.

What I claim is:

1. A manually operable device vfor controlling the discharge of liquidunder fthe action of a propellant from a container having an opening,including a resiliently deformable sealing ydisc tor mounting in saidopening and having a central aperture, a valve body having a centralcavity formed with a seat and a rim surrounding said cavity and saidseat, means which resiliently urge the rim of said valve body intosealing engagement with one side of said disc, a liquid discharge tubehaving openings inboth ends and having a gas-tight tit with the wall ofsaid central aperture of said sealing disc, said tube projecting fromopposite sides of said ldisc and one portion tot' said tube extendinginto said cavity and being provided with an exterior liange which isspaced from said sealing disc and rests on the seat formed in saidcavity, a lip on said valve body for retaining said flange on said seat,and passages permitting the liow of liquid from one side to the other ofsaid exterior flange and along said one tube portion to the opening inthe end of said one tube portion, the area of said opening beingrestricted to act as a metering inlet orifice tto; the interior of saidtube, the inlet orifice being of circular cross-section and having itsflow axis in line With the Longitudinal axis of the liquid dischangetube,

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the passages permitting theflow of liquid from one side to the other of said exterior ange areconstituted by a number of indentations iormed in said ange.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein .the said one tube pontionand the cavity in said valve body are both tapered, lnhe cavity thusforming a seat for said tube portion, the tube portion and cavity whenseated dening a iixed volume chamber in the cavity adjacent said inletorifice.

4. A :device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said one tube portionand the cavity in said valve body are `both tapered, the cavity thus[forming a seat for said tube portion, the tube portion and cavity whenseated deiining a xed volume chamber in the cavity adjacent said inletorice.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 for mounting in a chamber whichencases the said valve body, said 6 chamber being closed at its top bysaid sealing disc and having a bottom portion provided with a duct and ashoulder surrounding said duct, the means which resilient- 1y funge therim of said valve body into sealing engagement with the sealing discbeing constituted by a coil spring arranged between said rim and saidshoulder.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A MANUALLY OPERABLE DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE DISCHARGE OF LIQUIDUNDER THE ACTION OF A PROPELLANT FROM A CONTAINER HAVING AN OPENINGINCLUDING A RESILIENTLY DEFORMABLE SEALING DISC FOR MOUNTING IN SAIDOPENING AND HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE, A VALVE BODY HAVING A CENTRALCAVITY FORMED WITH A SEAT AND A RIM SURROUNDING SAID CAVITY AND SAIDSEAT, MEANS WHICH RESILIENTLY URGE THE RIM OF SAID VALVE BODY INTOSEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE SIDE OF SAID DISC, A LIQUID DISCHARGE TUBEHAVING OPENING IN BOTH ENDS AND HAVING A GAS-TIGHT FIT WITH THE WALL OFSAID CENTRAL APERTURE OF SAID SEALING DISC AND TUBE PROJECTING FROMOPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID DISC AND ONE PORTION OF SAID TUBE EXTENDING INTOSAID CAVITY AND BEING PROVIDED WITH AN EXTERIOR FLANGE WHICH IS SPACEDFROM SAID SEALING DISC AND RESTS ON THE SEAT FORMED IN SAID CAVITY, ALIP ON SAID VALVE BODY FOR RETAINING SAID FLANGE ON SAID SEAT, ANDPASSAGES PERMITTING THE FLOW OF LIQUID FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER OFSAID EXTERIOR FLANGE AND ALONG SAID ONE TUBE PORTION TO THE OPENING INTHE END OF SAID ONE TUBE PORTION, THE AREA OF SAID OPENING BEINGRESTRICTED TO ACT AS A METERING INLET ORIFICE TO THE INTERIOR OF SAIDTUBE, THE INLET ORIFICE BEING OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION AND HAVING ITSFLOW AXIS IN LINE WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE LIQUID DISCHARGETUBE.